Undoubtedly the Earl of Grantham would sympathise with his predicament.

An elderly baron with eight daughters and a 6,000-acre estate faces his title being passed to a distant cousin – because he has no sons.

The dilemma echoes the plot of ITV series Downton Abbey, where the Earl of Grantham grapples with the problem of having three daughters but no male heir.

But in the real-life drama, the case of the 10th Baron Braybrooke has prompted a campaign to change the ancient law that stops daughters from inheriting titles.

Peers are asking the Government – which is already legislating so that if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s firstborn is a girl she can accede the throne – to make an amendment to the rules covering hereditary titles.

His eldest daughter, Amanda Murray, scaled down her business as an interior designer to take over the reins at the vast estate.

But when her father dies, his title – created in 1788 – will pass to a distant cousin she has never met, because peerages can only go to male heirs.

Mrs Murray, 50, said she was aware the predicament of herself and her sisters – who include Caroline, Countess of Derby – might arouse public irritation rather than sympathy, but added: ‘It boils down to this: if I was a boy, I would be sitting pretty.

‘My poor father had no son, just lots of daughters. In this day and age, with supposed equality, why am I not allowed to inherit my father’s title? It is discriminatory.

‘I am managing the estate, including the steam railway, so I am already doing a man’s job.’

It was a similar scenario in the ITV drama when the Earl of Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville, was horrified to discover that Downton Abbey would pass on his death to distant cousin – and ‘country solicitor’ – Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens.

But in the series, the problem was solved when Matthew fell in love with and married Lady Mary, the eldest of the Earl’s three daughters.

A similar problem also affected Elizabeth Bennett and her four sisters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

They faced being left penniless because, with no male heir, their fortune was due to pass to cousin William Collins, whom none of them wanted to marry.

In real life, upon the 10th Baron Braybrooke’s death his title will pass to Richard Neville, a fourth cousin once removed.

Mr Neville, 35, is single and owns a flat above a hairdressing salon in South-West London.

Mrs Murray said she knew nothing about him, although Mr Neville has said he has met the baron and some of his other daughters, and rode on the Audley End miniature railway in the 1980s.

The entrepreneur, who has a stake in events and venue website thehandbook.com, has declined to discuss the baronetcy.

Real life dilemma: Baron Braybrooke (pictured centre with his wife, right, and one of his daughters, Amanda Murray second from left) will leave his estate to a distant cousin they barely know

Heir apparent: Richard Neville (pictured with an unknown woman), a fourth cousin once removed, is set to inherit the 6,000-acre estate. He currently lives in a flat above a hairdressing salon in South-West London

But while he will inherit the title, it remains unclear whether he will automatically gain ownership of the estate.

Audley End is a 17th century country house and renowned as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England.